Unhappy Aniversary
by Rayven Blackwood
Summary: I wrote this on a whim. What happens after Hitomi leaves Gaea for the last time? It's prolly a G fic, but I hate how G looks. There's drunkeness, and dead people, so mayhap it's a PG. This is a redone fic. One I am very proud of this. Reviews wanted!


Disclaimer: okays people. We all know that none of us own Escaflowne. Only some REALLY ingenious people in Japan own Escaflowne. And we all know that I don't own Vitamin C's song "Unhappy Anniversary". She does.  
  
  
  
  
  
You ask me  
  
How am I  
  
Well I'm still standing aren't I?  
  
That's something,  
  
That's one thing,  
  
That's gone my way.  
  
It's so hard  
  
To go on  
  
Like everything's okay now  
  
When inside  
  
I still cry  
  
For yesterday  
  
Hitmomi Kanzaki sat at the bay window in her new apartment. Every year on this day she spent the night staring up at the sky, trying to see Gaea, trying to see Van... This day four years ago, the adventure of a lifetime had ended, and she had lost the man she had loved...  
  
This is my unhappy anniversary  
  
But I lie, saying it's just another day  
  
This is my unhappy anniversary  
  
Van sat on the castle roof in his rebuilt Fanelia. Laughter drifted up from the gardens where the celebrations were being held. Celebrations honoring the end of the Destiny war, four years ago. To him, though, it was solely a week of grief. First his brother, Folken, had died. Then Hitomi left him forever. All in one week.  
  
I know it's so stupid  
  
To still feel broken-hearted  
  
I wonder if you know  
  
Just how much I hurt.  
  
I drink up  
  
And think up  
  
A toast to lonely hours  
  
To get through  
  
Without you  
  
Is so hard today  
  
A banging door, then drunken laughter woke Hitomi from her daydream.  
  
"Hitomi! You ssould come wi' me'n Burk! T'this party down shtairs! Ish wicked!!!"  
  
Yukari stumbled in the room, then tripped on the doorstop. She collapsed into a pile of giggles. Hitomi sighed. This was the third time this week her roommate had come home drunk.  
  
"Come on Yuki. No more parties for you tonight." She half carried, half dragged her best friend to bed. As she returned to her station by the window, her eyes misted up. "Oh Van."  
  
'Cause it's my unhappy anniversary  
  
But I lie saying it's just another day  
  
This is my unhappy anniversary  
  
"Lord Van! Lord Van!"  
  
Merle scampered up the ladder, then hugged Van tight around the chest. "Oh Lord Van! You disappeared after the feast, then I was so busy I couldn't come up to you! I'm sorry!"  
  
Van smiled sadly. He looked up at the mystic moon. "It's okay Merle. I understand. Besides, no one wants a sad king on the happiest week of the year."  
  
He leaned back against the wall, longing was etched on his face. Longing, pain, and interminable sadness.  
  
^oh Lord Van. You love her so much! ^ Merle thought. But instead of voicing her thoughts, she snuggled closer, preparing for the night...  
  
Wishing you were here,  
  
Same time next year.  
  
Wishing you were here,  
  
Same time next year.  
  
The dawn sunlight crept over the window sill and onto Hitomi's face. At around 1 o'clock, it had become to cold to sit with the window open bare- armed. So Hitomi had grabbed a blanket, and slowly dosed off. It was now 6 o'clock, and one star remained in the sky. "Gaea." She whispered, and then said louder. "Gaea. It's Gaea. I know it."  
  
She sat up to see that beautiful planet better then saw a perfect snowy- white feather on the navy blue bed spread. She picked it up with awe. It was exactly like the other three she had found the previous years. Then she looked up at the sky again. Gaea seemed just a little brighter now...  
  
"I love you Van! If you can hear me, I LOVE YOU!"  
  
"Shh! Have mercy for the dying! God Hitomi." Yukari moaned from the recesses of her bed.  
  
"I'm sorry, Yuki. But listen. You can't keep doing this to yourself."  
  
Still clutching the feather, she moved over beside her friend, and held her in a hug.  
  
"Amono's gone, but he still loves you. Even in death, he still loves you. Just keep your heart on that. You will be together again." ^ Just like me and Van. ^ Hitomi added silently. ^Just like me and Van. ^  
  
And now it's  
  
Near dawning  
  
A few more minutes and I'll  
  
Return to, get back to,  
  
My former life.  
  
Pretending  
  
Our ending  
  
Was not so bad  
  
I know that  
  
It's time to,  
  
Escape you  
  
Well until next year...  
  
In the dawn light, Van walked over to his brother's grave.  
  
"Folken, is it supposed to hurt this much?"  
  
"Yes, brother. It is. Love was not meant to be held apart."  
  
Van looked behind him, and at his brother's ghost.  
  
"I don't even know if she remembers Gaea." He choked back his tears. "If she even remembers me..."  
  
"She does Van. Every night on this anniversary, she stares at the sky and cries." A ghostly hand touched Van's shoulder. It was not the hand of the Folken Strategos; it was the Folken Fanel. The kind, loving brother, not the sorcerer.  
  
"And every morning, she wakes up with a new feather in her hand. Yes Van, she remembers you. And remember this, brother. She loves you with all her heart...."  
  
as he spoke the last words, Folken's voice faded just as he did. Van looked back up at the mystic moon, and fell to his knees. His hand came up to touch the rosy pendant beneath his shirt.  
  
"I love you, Hitomi Kanzaki." He said, willing his voice to be heard on that blue moon. "Now and forever, I love you."  
  
Silent tears streamed down his face, and he walked back to his home.  
  
When it's my unhappy anniversary  
  
But I lie, saying it's just another day  
  
This is my unhappy anniversary  
  
But I smile, like it's just another day  
  
It's just my unhappy anniversary  
  
It's just my unhappy anniversary...  
  
  
  
A/N: well, what do you think? I got this idea at 2:30 in the afternoon, during Math class, and I'm quite happy with the fact that I got all the ideas down without Mr. Bradley catching me.... so review and tell me what you think. CONSTRUCTIVE flames only, thank you!  
  
-Ray 


End file.
